Upon reaching the campsite, Wang Lun finally let go of Li Ling's hand, saying, "I'm hungry." Li Ling replied, "You made me worry! I hope you don't starve to death!" She then ran back to the shelter to fetch water and cook. Seeing Li Ling run off, Wang Lun put down his basket, extinguished the campfire at the entrance, gathered some firewood (leaving the rest for later), and locked the campsite gate securely. Only then did he return to the campfire and explain to Li Ling why he was late.
It turned out that Wang Lun had finished peeling bark from trees in the forest and was on his way back when he came across a clump of kudzu roots. He decided to dig it up to improve his diet. He put down his basket, took out a machete, and first heated the surrounding area to make it safe for someone to enter. Then he used his hands, the machete, and a stick to dig it all out. The forest was already quite dark, and with Wang Lun inside the kudzu vines, it became even darker. By the time he emerged, it was almost dark, with only a sliver of light remaining. So he cut a stick, packed his basket, and headed back. The beginning was alright, with some light, but later he relied entirely on the stick and his memory to find his way, wandering aimlessly through the forest, completely disoriented. Finally, he saw the light of a campfire in the direction of the campsite, which gave him direction, and he slowly made his way back.
After listening to Wang Lun's story, Li Ling stopped cutting the snake meat and said, "Come back earlier next time, or we can go out together. I'll be very worried about you being alone in the camp." Wang Lun agreed, "Okay, definitely, I'll come back earlier next time." Li Ling said, "If there's a next time, I won't give you any food." Wang Lun said, "Okay, okay, I promise, there won't be a next time." Li Ling then said, "That's good, I definitely won't give you any food next time." Wang Lun looked at Li Ling's stern face and said, "The water in the pot is boiling." Li Ling glared at Wang Lun, chopped the snake meat into pieces with a few quick strokes, poured it into the pot, then went inside to get a handful of dried wild vegetables and a handful of dried seafood. She threw the seafood into the pot and soaked the wild vegetables in the sink. Then she came back to watch the pot. When the snake meat and seafood were almost cooked, she went to get the wild vegetables and put them in the pot. She told Wang Lun to stir them a few more times, then went into the shelter to get bowls and chopsticks and washed them by the sink. After waiting a few more minutes, they finally took the pot off the table, and then we could eat.
After they finished eating, Li Ling continued weaving straw mats, while Wang Lun went to process the harvest in his basket. Wang Lun started with the kudzu roots, peeling off the outer shells and then cutting them into small pieces. After cutting all the kudzu roots, he put them in a basket and then found all the bamboo tubes and a pot. Wang Lun found a spot, placed the pot under a stone, and used another stone to crush the kudzu root pieces before putting them into the pot. He then processed the remaining kudzu root pieces one by one.
It took almost half an hour to crush all the kudzu root pieces. Then, Wang Lun first scooped out the coarse kudzu root pieces that could be retrieved from the pot. Next, he covered a bamboo tube with a section of straw mat that Li Ling had woven earlier, and used another bamboo tube to draw kudzu root water from the pot. The filtered kudzu root water was left in the bamboo tube and stored away. He processed the remaining kudzu root water in the same way. After processing all the kudzu root water, he pounded the larger pieces and the filtered water again, filtering it through two more bamboo tubes. The remaining residue was put into a pot with some water, and then placed on the campfire to continue boiling. After the water boiled, he stirred it until it thickened to a consistency, then removed the pot and set it aside to cool.
Wang Lun began processing the bark. He first separated the harder outer layer of bark from the fibrous inner layer, then tore the fibrous part into thin strips about one millimeter in diameter, and then placed them on a wooden stick to air dry to prevent them from rotting later.
They worked until Li Ling was yawning, at which point Wang Lun suggested they take a break, saying they could finish the rest tomorrow. Li Ling readily agreed, as it was already late at night and she should be sleeping. After washing up, the two rested.
Li Ling slept until the next day, and Wang Lun still made breakfast while Li Ling slept in. However, the breakfast this morning seemed a little different.
When Wang Lun got up in the morning, he checked the bamboo tubes and the pot. The bamboo tubes were filled with clear water on top and had a lot of sediment at the bottom. Wang Lun poured out the water, removed the sediment, and placed it on a clean stone slab. Then he started processing the other bamboo tubes. He cleaned each bamboo tube very thoroughly, leaving virtually no residue. Although there was a lot of kudzu root, the amount of kudzu root powder left after filtering was quite small, just enough for one meal, and even then, it had to be eaten sparingly. Wang Lun had a solution, though. After all, the filtered kudzu root powder was refined food, delicious but scarce, while the amount of residue before filtering was still quite large. Although it wasn't very tasty, in this situation, having something to eat was already a blessing.
Wang Lun placed the filtered kudzu root powder on a stone to dry, making it easier to store. The semi-cooked kudzu root residue in the pot had solidified overnight. Wang Lun broke it into smaller pieces and put them into bamboo tubes, filling two tubes completely, with some left in the pot. He placed the bamboo tubes in the shelter and returned to process the kudzu root residue in the pot—let's call it secondary kudzu root powder. He added some water, the same water used to rinse the bamboo tubes, and stirred the secondary kudzu root powder in the pot until it became a thick consistency. Then, Wang Lun placed a thin stone slab over the campfire. After the slab had heated for a while, he used a spoon to pour the kudzu root paste from the pot onto the slab, and then waited quietly.
Wang Lun wasn't going to wait. Instead, he went to fetch water and started cooking the fish. He couldn't just eat kudzu root cakes all at once; after all, he couldn't finish them all in one go. Sometimes, he didn't know when the next time would come.
While cooking the wild vegetable stew with fish, Wang Lun kept an eye on the kudzu root cakes on the stone slab, flipping them occasionally. The little bit of batter was only enough for a few cakes, so he made six. The last one was particularly small; the others were about half the size of his palm, with the last one only half that size. Although there weren't many cakes, Wang Lun cared a lot about them, much more than he did about cooking the fish soup.
The fish soup was cooked quickly, and then the flatbread was ready too. Actually, the flatbread could have been ready much earlier, but Wang Lun still planned to let it sit for a while longer, since it tastes better when it's fully cooked. Only after both dishes were ready did Wang Lun realize he hadn't woken Li Ling up yet, and then he finally called her to get up.
Soon after Li Ling finished washing up, she arrived at the dining area. Wang Lun had already prepared the fish soup and was just waiting for her to eat. As soon as Li Ling sat down, Wang Lun handed her a pancake, then picked up the smallest one for himself, ignoring Li Ling and taking a bite first. He hadn't eaten starchy food in a long time and was really craving it.
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